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T h e   H o l l o w s O f
H    I    R    A    E T H
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Once I was finished putting away the books, and worrying about who Toby really was, I sat back down at the table to see Saph practically hyperventilating.

"Woah, Saph, are you okay?" I asked her and I couldn't help the concern that laced into my words. Turning to face me, she grabbed my arm—tightly—and I winced.

"Of course I'm not okay!" She shouted and frowned at her new tone of voice.

"You're not?" The confusion burst out into my voice without warning.

"No!" Saph didn't seem to care about the amount of noise she was creating, "Do you have any idea who that was?" Her voice reached a point to where I had to put my finger over her lips to prevent her from shrieking and bursting my eardrums—or getting us in trouble.

"Obviously I don't," I responded, curious about what Saph was getting at. Saph's eyes widened and she started hyperventilating again. Before I had the time to comfort her, she spun around in her chair, nearly toppling over, just to turn her body towards me completely.

"That was Toby Espan!" She shrieked.

"Dude, I know, he told me."

"No!" She shouted, looking outraged. No? "That was Toby Espan–"

"I know!" Despite my earlier fuss over her volume of voice, I was now the one shouting as I became annoyed with this back and forth argument. I saw as Saph became extremely agitated by my response.

"Zack Espan's younger brother!" She concluded, her voice becoming quieter as she finally became aware that we were in a library. Then it clicked, the warning bells in my head, I remembered the last name from when Avery had freaked out over Zack Espan. He was apparently the hot player of the school—if that's the older brother, then what the hell will Toby be like?

"Wait, younger brother?" I asked her and Saph looked at me as she calmed herself down.

"Yes, Zack is in the year above us, and Toby is our age." That made sense, I guess.

"So basically, you just befriended the schools hottest players younger brother." I had to mull her words over several times before they made sense in my head, then I saw that even Saph had trouble understanding what the hell she just said. She couldn't have worded that any differently?

"Well, I wouldn't say befriended.." I trailed off, despite the baffled moments previously, and Saph raised her eyebrows at me.

I clenched my jaw at her silent retort. "All I did was agree to use his resources to get my answers! It isn't a bloody date." I hissed and Saph snickered, and then she let it go. She stood up and slung her bag on her shoulder, with me following in suite.

We walked out of the library and I quickly checked the time before we left. It was half-past five—wow how long did we spend in here? And how long did I spend in the hospital?

"What's the time?" Saph asked me as we exited the library and I winced as my ankle began to finally feel the stress.

"Hey, you okay?" Saph asked before looking down at my ankle. "Oh, I completely forgot about your ankle." She remarked sheepishly, looking slightly apologetic.

I laughed, "So did I," Taking a few more steps, I managed to catch up to her. Saph helped me down the corridor and as we started to climb the stairs, I spoke up.

"We might as well just go to lunch hall now to get dinner, it's going to take me ages to get there anyway." I laughed and Saph joined in.

"Okay, sure, we'll go straight to the lunch hall then you can crash at Cassie's dorm, so you can rest your steel boot." She laughed and I slapped her arm jokingly—though, with annoyance—before joining in.

"Sounds like a good plan." I told her with a grin on my face as I continued to hobble up the stairs.

When we walked into the lunch hall, I began to feel the stares of everyone fall on me. It was uncomfortable, almost claustrophobic like their hard gazes cornered me in despite the fact that they were all more than five metres away. In the library, it had just been me and Saph, well, and Toby; nobody had really spoken to me about what happened. But here, everybody began to whisper about the story of the girl and the chandelier.

"Different plan," Saph murmured in my ear, her body language telling me that she had registered the fact that eyes followed me, just as I had.

She tugged me through the lunch hall, "We're going straight to Cassie's and we're ordering pizza." Saph spoke next, her body shifting towards mine as she did so. I tried to not make the pain I was experiencing with my ankle obvious as everyone continued to stare at me, probably expecting me to fall down and die.

The walk through the lunch hall was long and very awkward, but, before I knew it, Saph and I were walking through the dorm corridors. We stopped outside Cassie's and Saph pulled out a key, letting it glint in the light, and smirked at me. I laughed; of course she had a key.

We nearly walked into Avery when Saph pushed the door open. Cassie, from her bed, was the first to react to our entry despite the fact that we practically walked into Avery.

"SAPHY! SKYEY!" She shrieked before running over to us and wrapping each of her arms around both our necks.

When she freed us, I shifted so that I could see her face, "Skyey?" I chuckled at the nickname but was interrupted as Avery pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. Literally, I think something in my back clicked.

Pulling back, she gave me a once over, "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly as she held onto my shoulders. I smiled at her; through all the craziness, I could still rely on Avery to be the concerned and overly-protective parent of the group.

"I'm fine, all limbs are still attached." I grinned and Avery laughed, no longer concerned for me, but instead light on her toes as she practically floated over to the desk, picking up a vase of flowers that Cassie had obviously knocked over, then rearranged them. I watched her with simple curiosity as Saph closed the door behind us and dived onto Cassie's bed, sending Cassie flying off the left-hand side. Cassie let out a wild shriek as she laid on the floor and I shifted my full attention over to her and snickered.

"Are we ordering pizza or not?" Saph asked from Cassie's bed, not at all bothered about what happened as Avery fussed around, yanking Cassie up from the floor. Saph had made herself quite at home in the midst of Avery's concern and was reading a magazine with boredom.

"We're ordering a pizza?" Cassie whispered with astonishment, eyes wide and mouth gaping open, seeming to forget that she just fell and landed on her head. I laughed at her reaction whilst the other girls just dismissed it.

"Yeah, I thought it would be easier for Sky if she ate here, and then when she's rested I can drag her back to Jameson," Saph explained and I rolled my eyes as she mentioned Jameson.

Avery clapped her hands together, "Sounds great! I'll call the office." She announced, her dainty fingers pulling out her phone from her pocket. As she started to dial what I figured would be the office's number, I realised that I had never known how this place got food ordered in, so this will be interesting to watch.

"Yeah hi, can we get a–" Cassie jumped up and down in front of Avery shouting "B-B-Q! B-B-Q!" At the top of her lungs, waving her arms around like an idiot.

"A barbecue pizza from Dominos to dorm number seventeen please?" She requested politely into the phone and then listened for the response. She ended the call with her thanks and turned to us with a smile.

"Half an hour for a barbecue pizza!" She shouted and fist pumped the air as if it was her greatest achievement. I laughed and dragged her down onto the bed with me.

Saph kicked my shoulder and I punched her leg in response. Though, before we actually started full on bitch fighting, Cassie's guardian, Kim, walked in and sniggered at Saph, Avery and I on the bed.

Cassie jumped up, "FELICIA!" She exclaimed at the top of her lungs and wrapped her arms around Kim's neck.

Kim pulled away from Cassie and shook her head, "How many times have I told you that 'Felicia' is not my name?" She huffed in annoyance and threw her bag in her room.

The girls laughed at their banter but, again, the familiar feeling of envy boiled in my blood. I couldn't help it, although I may have the girls around, it's not like I can scream 'Felicia' at Jameson and wrap my arms around his neck. That was a thought I'd never seen in my mind's eye before and, as the girls babbled on, I tried to figure out what it meant to me.
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IS THIS THE FIRST SAPH AND SKY (only) SCENE IN THE BOOK?

#SKAPH

okay sorry

No #skyson 😭😭

My heart is so broken that it's not even a heart anymore

(So what is it?) (idk)

BYE NOW

–Chloe without the last name.

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Next update: Friday
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CHAPTER THIRTY SPOILER
(yasss):

Some squad, and some pizza.

Jameson. Just. Jameson.

Sky does some damage.

And a hefty load of #skyson.

Amen to that.